Tail gate



Patented Oct. 7, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE TAIL' GATE Philip R.Fairbanks, Ogden, Utah Application April 5, 1940, Serial No. 328,075

2 Claims.

My invention relates to dump trucks and the like and has for its objectto provide a new and highly eicient tail gate for said truck bodies.

A further object is to provide a dump truck body tail gate which will bestronger than the usual gate and which will be constructed so that noforeign particles such as a small rock will lodge in the hingeconnection and prevent the gate from closing completely and will also befree to open freely.

A still further object is to provide a tail gate construction for truckswhich will reinforce the rear end of the dump body plate and bed andwill make the hinge of the gate tangential to a plate over which thematerial slips when unloading so that the material will completely dumpand so that no foreign particles will catch in the gate hinges, eitherto impede dumping or prevent the gate from opening or closing. Thepresent invention also aids in throwing material farther from the truckbody and farther from the rear wheels of the truck than is commonlypossible and which gate is adapted to be hinged for down folding orbottom opening gates.

These and other objects I accomplish with the device illustrated in theaccompanying drawing in which similar numerals and letters of referenceindicate like parts throughut the several Views and as described in thespecification forming a part of this application and pointed out in theappended claims.

In the drawing Figure l is a longitudinal section of a dump bodysectioning the tail gate transversely showing the gate partially opened.

Figure 2 is a, bottom View of the showing made in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse section of the tail gate juncture tothe dump body bed.

Figure 4 is a transverse diametrical section of one end of the tail orend gate support pins.

In the drawing I have shown the dump truck body as A, with the door orfloor plate shown as B. In the open end of the body the tail r end gateC is pivotally mounted. The tail gate consists of the usual plate 5 andreinforced ends 6 and top 'I with the lower or juncture edge of the gatesecured offset to, but being parallel to a true radius of atubular basebar 8. This base bar 8 is secured to the lower edge of the end plate 5by welding or other suitable means and each end of the tubular base bar8 is provided with an eX- tended steel hinge pin 9, formed on the end ofan enlarged block IG which block is welded into each end of the tubularbase bar to provide the pivot pins or hinge pins for the tail gate andto strengthen each end of vthe tubular base bar 8.

Along the bottom of the truck body and spaced apart to give the properstrength I provide reinforcing brackets I I secured to the bottom plateB of the truck bodyand having their forward ends or ends adjacent thetail gate base rod formed in a semi-circle to fit snugly to the sidewall of the brace rod 8, and take up undue stress, bending or flexing ofthe base rod when the truck is in its many uses.

Across the bottom plate B of the truck I mount a rear end brace or bedplate D, said brace plate having its forward edge beveled at I3 and itsrear edge formed concave at III to form a completion of a portion of acircle with the brackets IIl and with the top surface of the plate C settangential to the brace rod 8 or so that a line extended from the plateC would intercept the uppermost perimeter of the rod 8. The concave arcI4 acts as a cleaner to clean the rod 8 and is substantially in contacttherewith.

This construction strengthens the body plate, lengthens the life of thetail gate, and is an economy feature for truck driver and owner, givinglasting strength to the tail gate, longer life to the truck body andproviding means against which other trucks may be engaged for the usualmaneuvers found in construction jobs.

The present device giving additional strength to the tail gate makes itparticularly adaptable to use it with automatic controls for tail gates.

On trucks employing down folding gates with automatic means forcontrolling the tail gate, such as shown in my former patent applicationSer. No. 282,764, filed July 4, 1939, now Patent #2,226,901, and onwhich other patent applications are being filed, this construction oftail gate makes the gate stronger, and adaptable to receive the stresseswhich occur in such types of gates which the present day tail gates willnot accomplish.

Having thus described my invention, I desire to secure by Letters Patentand claim:

1. A tail gate construction for dump trucks comprising a dump truckbody; a bed plate mounted across the rear end of the bottom of the bodysaid plate having the longitudinal edge at the rear of the body formedarcuate; a tail gate for said body having the lower edge of the gatereinforced and formed as a tubular member With the gate pivotallymounted at the ends of the tubular member spacing the tubular memberparallel with said arcuate edge of said bed plate with the top surfaceof the bed plate tangential to said tubular member and substantially inccntact therewith.

2. A device as set out in claim 1 including Yrein- 'forcing bracketsmounted at spaced intervals under the rear of said dump truck body withthe portion of the bracket adjacent the tubular member of the tail gateformed arcuate and concentric with said tubular member.

PHILIP R. FAIRBANKS.

